Germany Elections: The New Government Will Change the Way the EU Works
The power corridors of Germany are heavily populated these days by coalition negotiators who are trying to get a breakthrough in government-making talks.
For many, the election is just a transition from Angela Merkel to yet another chancellor who will run Germany for the next term.
However, the consequences will be felt far from German territory, probably reaching most of the European legislatures, considering that Germany is the powerhouse of Europe both strategically and economically.
Olaf Scholz, the upcoming Chancellor of Germany can change the way EU works as his policy measures can change drastically from those of Angela Merkel.
Germany's Partisan Divide Stands at All-time High Today
The electoral divide that German voters have shown in this year's election is unprecedented, with no party getting more than 26% of the total votes.
This partisan divide depicts the internal ideological rift pervasive in the country, where Angela Merkel was enjoying popular support until today.
For the first time in history, the German government is likely to be run by three parties together, including two very unfamiliar parties having no administrative experience on the national level as such.
While the left ideology is going to dominate the national spectrum in the next term, Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic party will not be the only one with all power.
Scholz's coalition with the other two primary parties will be negotiated with difficulty, likely one where he has to surrender some of his leftists' policies.
This coalition negotiation might even seem to go in the dead-end tunnel any time soon, and the government can be pushed into a legislative roadblock many times.
But this may not only impact the policy options at home. The regional cost of this election can come at the expense of Germany drifting away from its leading role in the European Union, which the country championed under the leadership of Angela Merkel.
If Germany forgets its arbiter's role in the EU, France will grab the opportunity left by Germany with both hands to lead the European Union in the future.
The election result can also be considered as a rebirth of the SDP party, where its vote bank nosedived from 43% in 1998 to 21% in 2017.
Although the party managed to jump up to almost 26% this time, this can still be considered a bit of achievement for SDP, especially considering the closeness of the elections.
Angela Merkel's long journey as a chancellor of Germany is over and she is all set to step down from the most powerful position.
Is Representing a Whole Country by Only Getting 26% of Votes Justified?
Now, when Scholz becomes chancellor, he will come close to the heads of states of Sweden, Portugal, Spain, France, and Denmark, who also align themselves with left-wing politics.
But the question arises whether a person winning only 26% of votes represents the entirety of Germany? And does he deserve to propagate his left-wing ideology by getting the support of only a quarter of voters?
While one school of thought may opine against this question, however, this is the characteristic of post-modern democracies, and especially of the proportional voting systems.
Angela Merkel paid the price of losing support in almost every part of the country. The misery inflicted on Angela Merkel was so severe that SDP even won Merkel's own seat. The candidates she backed faced miserable defeats.
Although Merkel's party was running the government with SDP combined, the voters' wrath fell on Merkel because of her chancellorship, and SDP got away with it.
Final Thoughts
But seeing the voters division, it seems that voters are experimenting with new parties going forward so that the reins can be given to new faces instead of trying out the same ones again and again.
If the Green party and the Liberals successfully manage to offer alternative solutions to the voters from what they are already seeing, it is only a matter of time before both the status quo parties will become a matter of history.
